Jer 48:27, Jer 50 | ESV | STEP | Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves , that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head ?

1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^dBabylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^eby Jeremiah the prophet:

2 “Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
conceal it not, and say:
^f‘Babylon is taken,
^gBel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
^hHer images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.’
3 “For ⁱout of the north a nation has come up against her, ^jwhich shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^kboth man and beast shall flee away.

4 ^l“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^mthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ⁿweeping as they come, and they ^oshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ^pThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^qsaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^reverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

6 ^s“My people have been lost sheep. ^tTheir shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them, ^uand their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^vthey have sinned against the Lord, ^wtheir habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^xthe hope of their fathers.’

8 ^y“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^zand go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. 9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^aaa gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. 10 ^abChaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

11 ^ac“Though you rejoice, though you exult,
O plunderers of my heritage,
though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture,
and neigh like stallions,
12 your mother shall be utterly shamed,
and she who bore you shall be disgraced.
Behold, she shall be the last of the nations,
^ada wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13 ^aeBecause of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited
but shall be an utter desolation;
^afeveryone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled,
^agand hiss because of all her wounds.
14 ^ahSet yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
^aiall you who bend the bow;
shoot at her, spare no arrows,
^ajfor she has sinned against the Lord.
15 ^akRaise a shout against her all around;
she has surrendered;
her bulwarks have fallen;
^alher walls are thrown down.
For ^amthis is the vengeance of the Lord:
take vengeance on her;
^ando to her as she has done.
16 Cut off from Babylon the sower,
and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest;
^aobecause of the sword of the oppressor,
^apevery one shall turn to his own people,
and every one shall flee to his own land.
17 ^aq“Israel is a hunted sheep ^ardriven away by lions. ^asFirst the king of Assyria ^atdevoured him, and now at last ^auNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^avhas gnawed his bones. 18 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^awI am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^axas I punished the king of Assyria. 19 ^ayI will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^azhe shall feed on ^baCarmel and in ^bbBashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^bcGilead. 20 In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^bdiniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^beI will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, ^{▼▼ Merathaim means double rebellion}
and against the inhabitants of Pekod. ^{▼▼ Pekod means punishment}
Kill, ^bhand devote them to destruction, ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)}

declares the Lord,
and do all that I have commanded you.
22 ^bjThe noise of battle is in the land,
and great destruction!
23 ^bkHow the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and broken!
^blHow Babylon ^bmhas become
a horror among the nations!
24 ^bnI set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon,
and ^boyou did not know it;
you were found and caught,
because you opposed the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his armory
and brought out ^bpthe weapons of his wrath,
for the Lord God of hosts has a work to do
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from every quarter;
open her granaries;
^bqpile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction;
let nothing be left of her.
27 Kill all ^brher bulls;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, for their day has come,
^bsthe time of their punishment.
28 “A voice! They ^btflee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^buto declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^bvhis temple.

29 ^bw“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^bxEncamp around her; let no one escape. ^byRepay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^bzproudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 30 ^caTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

31 “Behold, I am against you, O ^cbproud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
^ccfor your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 ^cdThe proud one shall stumble and fall,
with none to raise him up,
^ceand I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all that is around him.
33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^cfThe people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^cgthey refuse to let them go. 34 ^chTheir Redeemer is strong; ^cithe Lord of hosts is his name. ^cjHe will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 “A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,
and against the inhabitants of Babylon,
and against ^ckher officials and her ^clwise men!
36 A sword against the diviners,
that they may become fools!
A sword against her ^cmwarriors,
that they may be destroyed!
37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots,
and against all ^cnthe foreign troops in her midst,
that ^cothey may become women!
^cpA sword against all her treasures,
that they may be plundered!
38 ^cqA drought against her waters,
that they may be dried up!
^crFor it is a land of images,
and they are mad over idols.
39 ^cs“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 ^ctAs when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^cuso no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 ^cv“Behold, a people comes from the north;
a mighty nation and many kings
are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
against you, O daughter of Babylon!
43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
pain as of a woman in labor.
44 ^cw“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^cxcan stand before me? 45 Therefore hear ^cythe plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^czand the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^daSurely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 ^dbAt the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”